Pity the poor exorcist, caught between evil spirits eager to invade human bodies and a society skeptical that demons exist outside of Hollywood horror movies.<\/p>\n
Even some church leaders look askance at exorcists as peddlers of a practice best left in the Middle Ages. Most American exorcists, particularly the handful of priests appointed by the Roman Catholic Church, keep a low profile, hesitating to open themselves \u201d\u201d or their church \u201d\u201d to ridicule and quacks.<\/p>\n
But exorcists may soon be moving out of the shadows.<\/p>\n
U.S. Catholic bishops are sponsoring a conference this weekend in Baltimore on the “liturgical and pastoral practice of exorcism.” Fifty-six bishops and 66 priests have registered to hear about the shortage of trained exorcists and the growing interest in the mysterious rite, according to Catholic News Service.<\/p>\n